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The Peace of Pocahontas: Based on a True Story
Can one person secure peace for an entire nation?
Or will Pocahontas need the help of Thomas Savage, the interpreter, and John Rolfe, the man she’s beginning to have feelings for?
Virginia, 1613. Three years of war have kept Pocahontas and Thomas apart. When the English kidnap her, they’re reunited, but their lives are controlled by a cruel and powerful man who has brought hundreds of soldiers to the New World in conquest of all the land he can take. Regardless of who he must displace or kill.
Unique and deeply spiritual, Pocahontas endures captivity by using her strengths to find ways to make peace. Taught Christianity, she’s expected to accept a new religion. But she won’t give up her tribal ways and is determined to combine her inherent beliefs with those of the English God.
Thomas Savage, an orphan and prisoner himself as an indentured servant, aches for the freedom he once knew. Desperate for connection and a family, he longs to get closer to Pocahontas. But standing in his way are the leaders of Jamestown and John Rolfe, the tobacco farmer who has taken a serious interest in the woman Thomas loves.
Caught between the Natives and the English and between Thomas and John, Pocahontas must remain faithful to who she is and make peace with herself and the two nations set on killing each other.
Discover how Pocahontas wields a far-reaching influence over the future of a nation in Book Two of this series of YA historical novels. Taken from true events and written by genealogist and history lover Ora Smith, the Jamestown’s Boy Interpreter books are based on her ancestors and fit into what she calls Heritage Fiction. She is related to both Thomas Savage and likely the Accomack Native Americans.
Or will Pocahontas need the help of Thomas Savage, the interpreter, and John Rolfe, the man she’s beginning to have feelings for?
Virginia, 1613. Three years of war have kept Pocahontas and Thomas apart. When the English kidnap her, they’re reunited, but their lives are controlled by a cruel and powerful man who has brought hundreds of soldiers to the New World in conquest of all the land he can take. Regardless of who he must displace or kill.
Unique and deeply spiritual, Pocahontas endures captivity by using her strengths to find ways to make peace. Taught Christianity, she’s expected to accept a new religion. But she won’t give up her tribal ways and is determined to combine her inherent beliefs with those of the English God.
Thomas Savage, an orphan and prisoner himself as an indentured servant, aches for the freedom he once knew. Desperate for connection and a family, he longs to get closer to Pocahontas. But standing in his way are the leaders of Jamestown and John Rolfe, the tobacco farmer who has taken a serious interest in the woman Thomas loves.
Caught between the Natives and the English and between Thomas and John, Pocahontas must remain faithful to who she is and make peace with herself and the two nations set on killing each other.
Discover how Pocahontas wields a far-reaching influence over the future of a nation in Book Two of this series of YA historical novels. Taken from true events and written by genealogist and history lover Ora Smith, the Jamestown’s Boy Interpreter books are based on her ancestors and fit into what she calls Heritage Fiction. She is related to both Thomas Savage and likely the Accomack Native Americans.
265 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 12, 2023
12 people are currently reading
653 people want to read
About the author
Ora Smith
10 books66 followersGet to know Ora, receive a free ebook, and sign up for her newsletter at www.orasmith.com
Ora Smith’s one of those people who always has a project she’s excited about. She’s an author, artist, genealogist, seamstress, lover of a good book, traveler, antiquer, upcycler, and history buff. Although she’s lived in Arizona since 1986, she spent her early life in Lake Tahoe, California, where her passion to write blossomed on a tranquil riverbank with a beautiful backdrop of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
As a genealogist, she spent thirty-plus years researching family histories. With her historical “Heritage Fiction” novels for both adult and young adult, she’s made a niche in writing about ancestors, creating fascinating stories based on true events. She loves nothing better than to be whisked off to past eras to meet those whose lives are worth sharing.
As an author and artist, Ora creates faith inspired stories and children’s books. She writes and illustrates her picture book Stories of Light series, hoping to help children understand what the Light of Christ can mean to them. Watch for her release of The Son and Sun: An Amazing Story of Light in early 2025.
Although she writes on many subjects, she’s sure you’ll find in her writings a book that’s meant just for you.
Ora Smith’s one of those people who always has a project she’s excited about. She’s an author, artist, genealogist, seamstress, lover of a good book, traveler, antiquer, upcycler, and history buff. Although she’s lived in Arizona since 1986, she spent her early life in Lake Tahoe, California, where her passion to write blossomed on a tranquil riverbank with a beautiful backdrop of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
As a genealogist, she spent thirty-plus years researching family histories. With her historical “Heritage Fiction” novels for both adult and young adult, she’s made a niche in writing about ancestors, creating fascinating stories based on true events. She loves nothing better than to be whisked off to past eras to meet those whose lives are worth sharing.
As an author and artist, Ora creates faith inspired stories and children’s books. She writes and illustrates her picture book Stories of Light series, hoping to help children understand what the Light of Christ can mean to them. Watch for her release of The Son and Sun: An Amazing Story of Light in early 2025.
Although she writes on many subjects, she’s sure you’ll find in her writings a book that’s meant just for you.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 19, 2025
3.5 stars
Quicker and more concise than its predecessor, The Peace of Pocahontas covers a tumultuous year in war-torn Virginia, beginning with the eponymous heroine being taken hostage by the English and followed by her time as a captive in Jamestown. Unlike the previous book, which was told through the perspective of young interpreter Thomas Savage, the sequel is split between Thomas' POV and Pocahontas'. This is for the better--Pocahontas is a much more interesting protagonist than Thomas, who has entered his angsty teenage years and doesn't have a very commanding presence on-page. The author tries to add some zest with the addition of an awkward, one-sided love triangle (which is thankfully resolved by the end of the book), but Thomas remains a fairly muted character, despite living in the center of danger and adventure. Strangely, the central relationship of the first book, between Thomas and his older brother, Richard, is all but dropped entirely, suggesting that the author herself may have grown bored with it.
Pocahontas is both idealistic and idealized--this is the angelic version of the historical figure that we normally see in fiction, driven by a sense of destiny. Her discomfort as a captive who is forced to wear English clothes and prohibited from speaking in her native tongue is suitably unnerving and a reminder of how many Native Americans were subjected to similar conditioning. Even so, Smith leans a bit too much into the cliche of indigenous cultures as feminist utopias, ignoring the darker elements like widespread slavery.
This is one of the only works of fiction I've come across that depicts Pocahontas' relationship with John Rolfe, and it's handled well (there's far less fiction written about her now than during the 20th century, but writers seem to have finally shaken off the fabled love story between Pocahontas and John Smith). Like Ora Smith says in the historical notes, it's very odd how this man has been all but erased from history, given how he was as essential to forging a peace between the English and the Powhatans as Pocahontas was. Having the two bond over a shared idealism rings true to me, and is supported by the few letters of Rolfe's that have survived to today.
Less deft is religion's integration into the story. Ora Smith is a Christian writer, and given the importance of Christianity to people of this era, I thought her inclusion of religious themes and verses added an air of authenticity to Trading Thomas. Here, unfortunately, the religious elements are clunkier and at times rambling. For readers who are not from a Christian background, I suspect that some of the passages will read like psychobabble, and possibly deter them from moving forward with the story.
I think it's fine to take artistic liberties with historical fiction (heaven knows Hollywood does), as Smith does throughout the book. What's more questionable to me are some of the things she attributes to historical record. For instance, writing Henry Spelman as a troublemaking cad is the sort of change I can understand a writer making in order to spice up the story and distinguish the characters more. But judging by the historical notes, this appears to have been Smith's genuine reading of the person, which is puzzling to me. She even goes so far as to depict Spelman as an attempted-rapist (a concession prize to online conspiracy theorists everywhere). Having read many of the books listed on Smith's bibliography, I can't recall the real Henry Spelman having ever been described this way, and the firsthand accounts that mention him from John Smith and Rolfe all speak fairly well of him.
The same goes for declarations that the real Thomas had an older brother who was killed by Indians, or that Pocahontas' older sister was permitted to visit her in captivity, neither of which appear to have a source (nor really make much sense, in the case of the latter). I'm not convinced that Rocke Hall was being used as a school for Indian children at the time of Pocahontas' imprisonment, but even if it was, its management felt anachronistic. At this point in time, the settlers wanted as many bilingual children as possible to act as go-betweens, so they wouldn't have wanted the children to forget their native language. When the English traded boys like Thomas to live among the Powhatans, the Powhatans in turn sent children to live among the English to learn their language and customs.
There's plenty more to talk about--like the theory that Thomas married a Powhatan woman--but for now, let's save that for Book 3.
Quicker and more concise than its predecessor, The Peace of Pocahontas covers a tumultuous year in war-torn Virginia, beginning with the eponymous heroine being taken hostage by the English and followed by her time as a captive in Jamestown. Unlike the previous book, which was told through the perspective of young interpreter Thomas Savage, the sequel is split between Thomas' POV and Pocahontas'. This is for the better--Pocahontas is a much more interesting protagonist than Thomas, who has entered his angsty teenage years and doesn't have a very commanding presence on-page. The author tries to add some zest with the addition of an awkward, one-sided love triangle (which is thankfully resolved by the end of the book), but Thomas remains a fairly muted character, despite living in the center of danger and adventure. Strangely, the central relationship of the first book, between Thomas and his older brother, Richard, is all but dropped entirely, suggesting that the author herself may have grown bored with it.
Pocahontas is both idealistic and idealized--this is the angelic version of the historical figure that we normally see in fiction, driven by a sense of destiny. Her discomfort as a captive who is forced to wear English clothes and prohibited from speaking in her native tongue is suitably unnerving and a reminder of how many Native Americans were subjected to similar conditioning. Even so, Smith leans a bit too much into the cliche of indigenous cultures as feminist utopias, ignoring the darker elements like widespread slavery.
This is one of the only works of fiction I've come across that depicts Pocahontas' relationship with John Rolfe, and it's handled well (there's far less fiction written about her now than during the 20th century, but writers seem to have finally shaken off the fabled love story between Pocahontas and John Smith). Like Ora Smith says in the historical notes, it's very odd how this man has been all but erased from history, given how he was as essential to forging a peace between the English and the Powhatans as Pocahontas was. Having the two bond over a shared idealism rings true to me, and is supported by the few letters of Rolfe's that have survived to today.
Less deft is religion's integration into the story. Ora Smith is a Christian writer, and given the importance of Christianity to people of this era, I thought her inclusion of religious themes and verses added an air of authenticity to Trading Thomas. Here, unfortunately, the religious elements are clunkier and at times rambling. For readers who are not from a Christian background, I suspect that some of the passages will read like psychobabble, and possibly deter them from moving forward with the story.
I think it's fine to take artistic liberties with historical fiction (heaven knows Hollywood does), as Smith does throughout the book. What's more questionable to me are some of the things she attributes to historical record. For instance, writing Henry Spelman as a troublemaking cad is the sort of change I can understand a writer making in order to spice up the story and distinguish the characters more. But judging by the historical notes, this appears to have been Smith's genuine reading of the person, which is puzzling to me. She even goes so far as to depict Spelman as an attempted-rapist (a concession prize to online conspiracy theorists everywhere). Having read many of the books listed on Smith's bibliography, I can't recall the real Henry Spelman having ever been described this way, and the firsthand accounts that mention him from John Smith and Rolfe all speak fairly well of him.
The same goes for declarations that the real Thomas had an older brother who was killed by Indians, or that Pocahontas' older sister was permitted to visit her in captivity, neither of which appear to have a source (nor really make much sense, in the case of the latter). I'm not convinced that Rocke Hall was being used as a school for Indian children at the time of Pocahontas' imprisonment, but even if it was, its management felt anachronistic. At this point in time, the settlers wanted as many bilingual children as possible to act as go-betweens, so they wouldn't have wanted the children to forget their native language. When the English traded boys like Thomas to live among the Powhatans, the Powhatans in turn sent children to live among the English to learn their language and customs.
There's plenty more to talk about--like the theory that Thomas married a Powhatan woman--but for now, let's save that for Book 3.
February 6, 2024
I just finished reading Smith’s The Peace of Pocahontas: Based on a True Story. This novel is the middle in a trilogy about Pocahontas and her role in securing peace between the Native peoples and the English colonizers. Chapters are presented in the voice of Pocahontas and of Thomas Savage, an orphan and indentured servant who lived among the Natives and served as an interpreter, and who is an ancestor of the author. It takes place in Virginia in 1613, when Pocahontas is kidnapped after three years of war. During her captivity, she learns English customs, wears English clothing, converts to Anglicanism, and marries John Rolfe. This series is a fascinating dive into a chapter in American history that most people are familiar with.
January 7, 2024
This book series has to be one of the best stories based on the true account of Pocahontas and her life ever told in story format. I wasn't expecting this book to be as good as it is. Bravo to Ora Smith of writing a well-written historical variation of a story that will make you aware of the tribulations the native tribes and the English had to endure in order to survive during the 1600s. This is definitely a book for anybody who enjoys Pocahontas and inspirations!
November 3, 2023
I've always loved this author's level of research. Now she's done research on the Native Amerucan tribes and Pocahontas. She's brought the story of Pocahontas and Thomas Savage alive for the next generation. It's portrayed with equal amounts of tenderness and excitement. Highly recommend for teens and older.
February 27, 2024
Beautiful love story to understand the historical period, reminding all of us to awaken to our own path in life.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews